Documentary details ‘Karims sports dynasty’

Irfan Karim (right) with his father Asif Karim at Nairobi Gymkhana. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • Titled ‘The Karims: A sporting Dynasty’, the documentary details the contribution of the Karim family in cricket and tennis across three generations.
  • Asif’s son, Irfan Karim, is following in his father’s footsteps as a talented young cricketer who could open batting, bowl and keep wicket.

A documentary detailing the story of Asif Karim, one of the cricketers who did Kenya proud when the country made its debut at the ICC World Cup in Asia 1996, will be released soon.

Titled ‘The Karims: A sporting Dynasty’, the documentary details the contribution of the Karim family in cricket and tennis across three generations.

Asif’s father Yusuf played tennis and was the Kenyan Coast Tennis Association champion for a quarter of a century. Tennis was Asif’s first game. He followed in the footsteps of his father and won several age-group tennis tournaments at the Coast, but the icing on the cake was when he represented Kenya in the Davis Cup.

PLAYED TENNIS

Asif achieved another first, becoming the first Kenyan professional tennis player. He could be flown from Mombasa every weekend to represent Nairobi Jaffrey in the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association league.

in 1994, Asif and other senior players in the Kenyan side fought a gruelling battle in the 20-team ICC Trophy in Nairobi. The event was a qualifier for the 1996 Cricket World Cup in Asia. Kenya lost to then newcomers United Arab Emirates in the final at Nairobi’s Ruaraka Sports Club but went on to qualify for the World Cup alongside UAE and the Netherlands.

Asif also stood out for Kenya in the historic 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where Kenya become the first non Test-playing country to reach the semi-finals.

He was also part of the squad that got Kenya the cherished One Day International (ODI) status in 1997 after another sterling performance in the 1997 ICC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Kenya finished second behind Bangladesh. Asif went on to captain the Kenyan side that took part in the 1999 World Cup in England.

TALENTED CRICKETER

Asif’s son, Irfan Karim, is following in his father’s footsteps as a talented young cricketer who could open batting, bowl and keep wicket. The talented Irfan is Kenya’s opening batsman and is currently with the side that will play UAE in the ICC World Cricket League Championships in England on Thursday and Saturday.

Asif appeared in three editions of the ICC World Cup (1996, 1999 and 2003) but his son may not take part in any edition as the teams taking part in the 2019 World Cup have been reduced from 14 to 10. Irfan’s other siblings are also involved in sports in one way or another.